The invention relates to a safety gas valve of the type disclosed in the Dietiker U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,576, issued Aug. 10, 1976. The object of the invention is to reduce the space required by such a safety gas valve insofar as the side of the housing located opposite the operating elements is kept free from all kinds of connections so that the mounting depth of the gas valve can be reduced.
The use of spring biased double levers as a mechanical coupling member between the closure member of the valve on the one side and the power unit or the operating push button on the other side is known as disclosed in British Pat. No. 1,084,172, and the Van der Linden U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,355, issued Dec. 13, 1968. In the British patent, the operating button and the connectors for electromagnet are located on opposite sides of the housing where neither a manual closing of the valve nor a latch is provided. In the safety gas valve according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,355, the operating push button and the connector for the power unit are located on the same side of the housing. However, a separate release push button is required for disengaging a mechanical clutch between the two levers when the valve is to be closed manually.
The present invention provides an improved safety gas valve with a latch to prevent unsafe reopening.